Thoughts on Abvieon’s Guide to Parallel Processing

Thoughts on Abvieon's Guide:

Link to guide for reference: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Htb-QkrSu8_vBfLnfF_e_bngU0xZTqmDtM-KOtHmiZY/edit

First Impressions:
Another guide with no margins? Why? What's the appeal to it? (Found out why later in the review.)
Guide's only 3,000 words or so long, which is great for my sake.
I think this is the only independent parallel processing guide I've seen that's not like, a Tulpa.info thread. That's sad.
The guide was made in April of 2019, surprisingly, so pretty recent, all things considered.
Welp. No time like the present, let's get started.

Abvieon’s Guide to Parallel Processing:
"The following is an excerpt from a tulpa creation guide I am currently writing," if I had access to the document details if the formatting wasn't weird, I'd like to see when this guide was originally made because as far as I know, the full guide *never* came out.
Abvieon apparently sectioned off this part of their guide to share it to people who were looking on advice for parallel processing, which is pretty neat of them.

Processing power and plurality:
Logical that making a tulpa doesn't increase the brainpower of the body, that attention and focus is a set, finite resource that has to be optimized.
Talks about three possible things you can do with this finite resource, which is sharing, swapping, and dividing, which also makes sense. You can't multiply, add, or subtract something like this, but you can divide and share it.
"Imagine two small circles, one labeled “host” and the other labeled “tulpa”. Now, imagine a larger circle labeled “processing power," wish they actually included an image, but eh.
Their description of sharing is interesting, like how both tulpa and host can't talk at the same time and how sensory input and awareness is shared. It's like being tapped into the same video. I'd also say the "observing while not doing anything else" bit is accurate.
With their description on "swapping," this one is weird. Only one can be active at a time and anyone else is just unconscious, not even mentally idle, but this *does* make sense if someone's doing a really mentally straining task, like playing a high-octane game.
Dividing description also is solid, as since the circle is split, both will have less resources to work with, but they at least have their own resources at all instead of having to share it. And honestly? This makes sense for most people as an explanation to why parallel processing works.
Well, I just discovered why the formatting was so weird with both this guide and Linkzelda's guide. It's because the links were formatted for mobile devices, not desktop computers. If you open the documents through Google Drive, they appear normal and the new links don't have "mobilebasic" in them. Welp. My bad.

Parallel processing:
Definition of parallel processing through dividing attention is very solid, also points for explaining that some systems attain this naturally while others just aren't gifted in it and have to build it up.
"Parallel processing is not to be confused with multitasking," thank you for stating this, and the logic in the next sentence is very easy to understand.
Even more, they state that multitasking is a misnomer and doesn't actually exist because a single stream awareness cannot truly do two things exactly at once while two or more streams of consciousness *can* (i.e. Plurality), which is true and is backed by studies.
"Still, parallel processing is hardly a superpower of any sort," also very true because like they mentioned, awareness is a finite and stagnant resource and splitting it limits what both parties can do, not even mentioning how making a tulpa doesn't increase the capacity.
I like how they explain the issues younger tulpas face with staying conscious with what they already elaborated, and how dividing attention is not the same as the tulpa being able to "grab" attention and share it with the host where one comes with time and the other comes with usually deliberate training.

Learning to parallel process:
Approve of the mindset of starting small and not jumping in head-first with something like parallel processing if you're not naturally inclined to it.
Not only because baby steps are important, but because I love how they say that repeated failure because of trying to do the hard things will lead to frustration and flat-out disbelief that parallel processing is possible, which is probably why it's so controversial in the community.
Breaking away from sharing sensory input *is* a good place to start, as I don't think it's too complicated to do and it encourages imposition training. A two-for-one kind of thing, which is great.
"Observation and thinking are not the same thing - one can remain conscious and aware without thinking," very good that they pointed this out, and that's why having different sensory input is the easiest to start with because you don't have to think to experience the senses.
Even in the next sentence, they elaborate that observing is less taxing than thinking, which is even bigger reason to start with the senses first. Their methodology so far is super solid.

Splitting observation:
"You don’t have another set of eyes on the back of your head, so the best way of doing this is by utilizing your mindscape," imposition? Object permanence? I know it's definitely not perfect, but you can at least get a sense of your surroundings by training yourself to sense beyond your vision.
Not saying that the mindscape practice is bad, though, just that it's not the only option.
"Though not required, it is ideal for this activity that your mindscape is fleshed out and consistent," agree with the logic and reasoning behind this statement, as consistency makes things a lot easier.
"Have them imagine that they are seeing out of their form’s eyes rather than yours," this is also *really* good advice and I suggest that tulpas should do this in general, even if they're not trying to train parallel processing.
The method itself does sound very helpful and how to combat the "overlap" that may occur.
Ooh, they even link that parallel processing test, which is helpful. They linked it for those who can't visualize well, which thank you for that. It's very considerate.

Thought concealment:
Oh yeah, this practice that most people try first when learning parallel processing; my systemmates and I have done this before. If what Abvieon says is true, then yeah, this is probably a big reason why people fail at parallel processing.
" You should start by forming a sort of divide between mindvoice vocalization directed at your tulpa and ordinary background thoughts within your mind," this is a really great tip. It's like when you're muttering to yourself and when you're actually directing your thoughts at someone.
Their suggestions for this involve symbolism and attaching markers for thoughts intended to be heard by the tulpa, but they also state that this does not automatically make it so your tulpa absolutely *won't* hear the thoughts, which makes sense. It's like being in a room with someone, even if you're not directly speaking to them, they can still hear you.
The practice of getting the tulpa and the host to be unaware of thoughts not directed at each other is also solid and straightforward.
There's even a reason why you want to mark thoughts you *want* your tulpa to hear instead of the opposite and their reasoning is perfectly logical.

Counting exercise:
Yeah, I've seen a lot of these in other places: get your tulpa to count while not paying attention to them is a really common parallel processing exercise.
Though, this guide's version of the method does include use of a timer and having the tulpa become familiar with how long it takes for a second to pass to count properly.
Furthermore, using this method is also another baby step to more complex things since counting is pretty simple.
I also like how they tell the host not to do anything too mentally taxing, as that'll just steal too much focus from the tulpa.
They even give ways on how to make this method more challenging.

Self sufficiency:
Ooh, a section on how a tulpa can remain active on their own.
Their advice on how to stay active by connecting to the body's senses is really good, and I like how they split the section with sharing and dividing attention.
Really, I think this occurs naturally if you passive force frequently like my system does. It just becomes second nature.
Like how they advise to space things out gradually instead of just telling your tulpa, "Welp, you're on your own."
Their suggestions for staying "awake" are also solid, even if the tulpa is struggling to form their own thoughts. Though, this method does sound like co-fronting because the tulpa is connected to the body's senses.
"This should go without saying, but you should not use this as a way to entirely abandon your tulpa," absolutely.
Oh, and this guide also uses "they" pronouns for tulpas, thankfully.

Final Thoughts:
Wow, there was only one or two gripes I had with this guide and they were super minor.
Everything was straightforward, easy to understand, and the logic behind the methods and reasoning are very solid indeed. Abvieon knows what they're talking about.
They were very clear about everything, even combating well-known myths in the community about parallel processing, which is very nice.
Along with that, they don't sensationalize parallel processing as a superpower, but just something that some systems are capable of that has some benefits (mostly for the tulpa).
I do kind of wish they had other methods, as what they listed seemed like a drawn-out step-by-step list on how to train parallel processing, not having much room for alternative methods for people who just don't mix with the ones listed. Or even just giving ideas with what was listed, elaborating further and giving people inspiration to craft their own strategies for what works with them.
Really appreciate the mindset of taking things gradually, as I wouldn't be surprised if the opposite of why people think parallel processing is impossible.
Though still a little irksome, I can understand why the guide has no definitions, as it's just a slice of their larger guide (that's theoretically still in the works... hm...), but I still wish they included some basic ones.
Using circles to explain how parallel processing works was done really well and makes it a lot easier to grasp, though I kinda wish they included actual images of that.
Overall, yeah! I'd definitely recommend this guide for people who want to learn parallel processing. If I ever see the full guide come out, I'll definitely read it through.